


Tomcat and Lovebug

by MsJoann



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrien Agreste/Marinette Dupain-Cheng Fluff, Adrien blushes every color, Basically they’re all of us, Blushing, Chaos, Crack, F/M, Hot Mess Marinette Dupain-Cheng, I wrote it a while ago, Identity Reveal, The class is very vocal, They’re loud, adrienette - Freeform, at least it’s supposed to be funny, bad teacher Mendeleiev, briefly, but honestly not that ridiculous knowing this show, but in a funny way, caught texting in class, idk what this is, misinterpretation, the rest is them suffering, they ship it - Freeform, they’re confused
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-05
Updated: 2021-01-01
Packaged: 2021-03-09 04:41:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,585
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27398911
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MsJoann/pseuds/MsJoann
Summary: Marinette gets caught texting Chat Noir in class. (Not that anyone realizes it’s Chat Noir.) Unfortunately some of their perfectly innocent banter comes off a little... suggestive.Rated T because like I said it’s suggestive.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 52
Kudos: 626
Collections: Miraculous Stories





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Sometimes watching this show I can’t help but think Ladybug and Chat Noir’s banter comes out a little bit suggestive. This is that x100 in front of the whole class plus an identity reveal. Because I can.

_Tomcat: Oh but my lady its such a cute nickname!_

_Bugaboo: i swear if you dont change it i will tie you to a lamp post and leave you there_

_Tomcat: doesnt sound so bad if its you_

_Bugaboo: dont tell me thats your kink_

_Tomcat: so what if it is_

_Bugaboo: oh my gosh_

_Bugaboo: do you like bdsm_

_Tomcat: …_

_Bugaboo: oh my goshhh_

_Bugaboo: you do dont you_

_Tomcat: I was *joking* mlady_

_Bugaboo: you kinky bastard_

_Bugaboo: this is valuable intel you know_

_Bugaboo: paris’ teenage heartthrob_

_Tomcat: heartthrob eh?_

_Bugaboo: oh shut up ive seen the fangirls_

_Bugaboo: but wouldnt they all like to know that their dreamboat guy_

_Bugaboo: that theyve been fantasizing about_

_Tomcat: I only care that Im in your fantasies_

_Bugaboo: is totally into bdsm_

_Tomcat: you have no proof_

_Bugaboo: ive got to alert the news_

_Bugaboo: bet that ladyblog girl would love to hear about this_

_Tomcat: please no_

_Bugaboo: but they deserve to know_

_Tomcat: Ill change your name_

_Bugaboo: hmmm_

_Tomcat: please_

_Bugaboo: i dont know…._

_Tomcat: mladyyyyyy_

_Bugaboo: deal_

_ <Tomcat> changed <Bugaboo> to <Lovebug> _

_Lovebug: srsly?_

_Tomcat:_ _;3_

Marinette ducked her head to hide a giggle at her kitty’s antics. He was such a _dork_. To be completely honest, it was pretty endearing. Not that she’d ever let him know that. Marinette glanced up at Madame Mendeleiev. She was currently going on about something or another, one hand waving a piece of chalk in the air. Her back had been turned away from the class long enough that many students were distracted by a bird outside the window, doodling, or even dozing off. Or- in Marinette’s case- texting with her cat-themed superhero partner. 

She was fairly certain she was the only one. 

Now Marinette knew she probably _shouldn’t_ be texting Chat Noir in class. She probably shouldn't be texting Chat Noir _at all_ but when he had discovered that messaging app that allowed you to hide your number and he gave those big, wide kitten eyes- Marinette just couldn’t say no. Sometimes she wondered how she ever was chosen to be a superhero when she seemed to have no spine whatsoever. She just hoped Hawkmoth didn’t know how to do baby-doll eyes. 

Her phone buzzed in her hand and she immediately rolled her eyes upon reading the text. 

_Tomcat: but you are my lovebug!_

_Lovebug: i suppose its a little better than bugaboo_

_Tomcat: awwww_

_Lovebug: dont let that go to your head_

_Tomcat: but mlady_

_Tomcat: I feel like the cat who got the cream!_

_Lovebug: only good kitties get cream_

_Tomcat: but i am a good kitty!_

_Tomcat: you wouldnt withhold your cream would you!?_

_Tomcat: 🙀_

_Lovebug: dork_

_Tomcat: 😺_

_Lovebug: ill guess youll have to lick up someone elses cream...._

_Tomcat: noooooooooo_

_Lovebug: youre such a bad kitty_

_Tomcat: 😿😿😿_

_Tomcat: 😿_

_Tomcat: 😿😿_

Marinette silently smacked her forehead. Chat _really_ loved those cat emojis. 

_Lovebug: ok ok fine_

_Lovebug: youre a good kitty_

_Tomcat: yay!_

_Tomcat: does that mean I get cream?_

_Lovebug: ill give you a treat_

_Tomcat: :3_

_Lovebug: what flavors do you like_

_Tomcat: wait rlly?_

_Lovebug: i said youre getting a treat and i meant it_

_Tomcat: you spoil me_

Marinette smiled. She had been meaning to bake Chat something for a while. He deserved it with all he did for her. She wasn’t sure what she was going to make but her parents just bought a bunch of fresh peaches and she’d been itching to put them to use. This was as good a chance as any.

_Lovebug: 🍑?_

_Tomcat: sounds purrfect_

_Tomcat: whats the treat ?_

_Lovebug: its a surprise_

_Tomcat: awww whatttt_

_Lovebug: just be patient kitty cat ;)_

Marinette waited patiently for Chat’s response as the gray dots flickered by ‘Tomcat,’ fingers hovering above the screen. She failed to notice the telltale click of red heels, or the shadow that fell over her, or the quiet growling of a very annoyed science teacher. 

“Mademoiselle Dupain-Cheng!” Mme Mendeleiev’s shouted shrilly. Several people jumped up at the sudden noise, eyes darting around wildly until they landed on Marinette, who was slowly looking up with wide, scared eyes. “What could possibly be so interesting on that-that _device_ that you couldn’t be bothered to pay attention to the lesson?”

“ _J-je suis désolé Ma-”_ Marinette squeaked.

“NO! I will not accept this behavior!” The teacher shouted. “Hand it over!” Marinette chewed on her lip nervously and shamefully placed the phone into Mme. Mendeleiev’s expectant hand. The tense woman snatched it up quickly and examined it with narrowed eyes. Slowly her expression morphed into something somehow even angrier than before. “You are texting _in my class_ just to flirt with some hooligan!?” The teacher didn’t seem to be getting any calmer. Marinette let out a gasp, eyes finally meeting Mme. Mendeleiev’s. At the same moment many of her classmates looked at her curiously. Marinette darted frantic eyes to her left to see Alya’s mouth had fallen open in shock. 

“N-no!” Marinette replied quickly. “I wasn’t- we weren’t-” 

“ _Mademoiselle Dupain-Cheng!_ ” Mme. Mendeleiev yelled again. “This is _quite_ lewd!” Marinette choked on air, eyes impossibly wide. Beside her, Alya had a similar reaction. In fact, most of her class was too shocked to even move. “This classroom is _not_ a place for this blatant sexual- sexual… _communications_!” Marinette sputtered incoherently. _Sexual!?_ she shouted internally. _With Chat Noir!?_ She desperately tried to tame her imagination but the thought was already there and probably wouldn’t leave anytime soon. She fought a deep red blush on her cheeks. 

“Marinette…” Alya said slowly.

“Dude, were you sexting in class!?” Alix crowed bluntly. 

“NO!” Marinette shouted. “Madame, you misunderstand-”

“DON’T THINK THAT I’M SO OLD I DON’T KNOW WHAT THIS EMOJI MEANS!” she bellowed, shoving the phone back into Marinette’s face. 

“What? I- oh-” Marinette looked at the conversation tidbit her teacher was reading and it dawned on her why Mme. Medeleiev had come to the conclusion she did. “No, I mean- the peach is-”

Suddenly a loud, amused wheeze sounded behind her. Marinette turned back to see Kim doubled over, tears threatening to spill from his eyes. His breaking seemed to have triggered a few other students who were teetering on the edge of laughter, including Alix and Alya. Mylene shot a glare at Ivan and he promptly stopped his own chuckling. 

“That’s enough!” Mme. Mendeleiev snapped. The class fell silent once more, but Marinette could still feel their judging eyes on her. Marinette felt herself grow hotter and hotter by the minute. This was quite possibly the most mortifying experience in her life. _It can’t possibly get any worse_ , she groaned to herself. Suddenly her teacher went pale. Marinette realized her teacher had been scrolling up through her texts. She felt panic rise in her throat. She _knew_ this was a bad idea! Her teacher would surely figure her out now. _The nicknames!_

“ _Mademoiselle_ ,” Mme. Mendeleiev said, sounding dangerously calm. “Are you participating in dangerous sexual escapades?” Marinette choked again, the air to her lungs suddenly cutting off and leaving her violently coughing. 

“ _Huh_?” she managed

“I hope you’re aware I will have to discuss this with your parents! You may be of age but you are certainly not old enough or responsible enough for something such as BDSM-”

“BDSM!?” Rose shouted in shrill surprise. 

“Noooooo! That’s not-” Marinette was shaking, not quite believing what was happening. She let out a breath and gave up on convincing the hysterical teacher that there wasn’t actually any sexual connotation behind their conversation. “Madame _please_ , the whole class-” She froze. 

_Oh no._

_No no no no no. No._

_NO._

Marinette’s eyes fell to the seat in front of her. Adrien was tense, sitting up ramrod straight. She couldn’t see his face but she could already imagine to horror that was bound to be painted across it. Adrien thought she- that she- _oh noooo._

 _Goodbye Emma,_ she thought solemnly. _Goodbye Hugo and Louis and that beautiful house and the hamster. Oh, the hamster._

_I’ll miss you most of all._

“No!” Mme. Mendeleiev said. “If you are going to interrupt class with this nonsense, then the class deserves to know exactly what it is you are disrupting their learning time with Mademoiselle Dupain-Cheng.” Her eyes returned to the phone and narrowed. “I don’t know who this _Tomcat_ is but he is getting a piece of my mind!” She began to type out a message. Marinette gasped. _No!_ She thought. _What if she uses my real name!? Chat Noir will figure me out! THIS IS A DISASTER!!!_ Marinette could only wait for her inevitable demise. “I just hope he isn’t some 40-year-old perv-” A loud ringtone in the form of a ‘meow’ rang through the classroom. They turned deathly quiet. All eyes landed on Adrien, who had turned a frightened shade of white. He gulped, scared and confused. Mme. Mendeleiev’s eyes narrowed.

“Hand over your phone, Monsieur Agreste,” she said carefully. He obliged, hand shaking. “ _Unlocked,”_ she clarified. Adrien’s eyes widened but he did as she said. Mme. Mendeleiev tapped something on his screen and her face turned sour. She looked from Marinette’s phone to Adrien’s and back to Marinette’s.

“Well Mademoiselle Dupain-Cheng,” she said, seeming to still not care that every other student in the room was witnessing the entire event. “When I saw that you were using this obscure messaging app, I assumed that you were talking to some degenerate or dangerous stranger, but it seems that’s not the case. I will be speaking to both your parents _tomorrow._ ” There was a pregnant pause as everyone- including Marinette- attempted to understand what was happening. It registered for them all at once.

 _Oh,_ Marinette thought. Somehow she didn’t freak out. Probably because at that moment, Chat Noir’s identity was the least of her worries. Because now-

“Duuuuuuuude,” Nino said, staring at Adrien like he’d just seen him for the first time. Alya had both hands over her mouth at that point, shaking from what Marinette assumed was barely contained laughter. 

“HOLY SHIT,” Kim said through a guffaw. 

“WHAT?!” Chloe shrieked. “That’s not possible! He never- when _I-_ Ridiculous, utterly ridiculous!”

“Wow, good for you Marinette!” Alix cheered. A few people turned to glare at her. “What!? It’s about time! And can you blame them? They’re both so beautiful they probably just wanted to see each other naked.”

Marinette sputtered incoherently. Adrien suddenly turned from paper white to tomato red. Mme. Mendeleiev surprisingly only shot the skater a warning look. Marinette guessed that her comments were probably nothing compared to what Mme. Mendeleiv thought she and Adrien had been messaging one another about.

“Statistically speaking,” Max said. “With the palpable sexual tension and loving glances, even the unconscious ones,” he shot Adrien a pointed glance, “there was a 89% chance that an incident like this would occur. Of course, factoring in their inherent innocence, this reduces to 75% but it’s a significant probability nonetheless-”

“That’s enough, Monsieur Kanté,” Madame Mendeleiev cut in. “However likely, an incident like this _did_ occur and I must address it.” _Curse that stupid cat._ Marinette had the sudden urge to strangle the blonde. Instead, she took a steadying breath and gathered her courage to look her teacher in the eye.

“Madame Mendeleiev,” she said slowly. “I know you think that those messages are intended inappropriately, but I can assure you there there are perfectly innocent explanations for a-”

“Innocent?” Mme. Mendeleiev said indignantly. “Would you like me to read them out and we can decide together how _innocent_ they are?”

“Oh, please don’t,” Adrien said. Mme. Mendeleiev scrolled up through the conversation. She continued to read through it with a scowl on her face in what was clearly a gross violation of privacy.

Adrien turned around with twinkling eyes and a small grin on his face. She frowned. _What’s he so happy about!?_ There was absolutely nothing to be happy about! Their identities were compromised, they were publicly humiliated, and the boy she loves turned out to be the goofy cat boy she repeatedly rejected! 

Wait.

_Chat Noir loves Ladybug._

_Chat Noir is Adrien._

_Adrien loves Ladybug._

_I am Ladybug._

_ADRIEN LOVES ME!_

Marinette practically squealed at the realization. And she thought Adrien loved Kagami. She smothered a smile and glared at him. Just then the bell rang. 

“I will be keeping your phones,” Mme. Mendeleiev said sharply. “You can come get them at the end of the day.” She turned to Adrien. “You’ll just have to talk about licking up her cream another time.” Adrien choked on air and fell into a coughing fit, his face now a vibrant purple. _I think he’s gotten through half the rainbow today,_ Marinette mused to herself. Most of the class had already shuffled out with amused smiles still plastered on their faces, but Alya lingered behind. She turned to Marinette with a look that screamed, _Explain._

She had a feeling she’d be doing a lot of that.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woah hey I’m back.
> 
> Honestly I wasn’t going to update this but it quickly became my most popular fic, which I still can’t believe because it’s just a dumb crack fic I dreamt up and for some reason decided “yeah this is definitely worth writing.” 
> 
> I’ve actually had this written for a while now but my beta reader kept forgetting to, you know, beta read it. I hope you all enjoy this. I had a blast writing it, however ridiculous it is.

Marinette stumbled out of the classroom with a dazed look on her face. A part of her was screaming profanities in her head but the larger part was still trying to convince herself that what just happened was all just a strange nightmare. 

It wasn’t working. 

Alya stared at the shorter girl curiously, clearly wanting to bombard her with questions, but too worried about the poor noirette’s wellbeing to do so. “Girl… you ok?” Alya asked. Marinette didn’t respond. “Marinette? You alive?” Marinette trudged silently forward as if she couldn’t hear Alya. She turned her bluebell gaze to the flow of students, many of whom were gathering around the courtyard and settling in the hallways for lunch. 

_ Lunch,  _ she thought miserably.  _ Why couldn’t we have a class next?  _ At least then no one could say anything, though they’d likely still stare at her. 

“Girl, I have so many-”

“Hey Alya,” a voice interrupted. “Can I steal Marinette for a moment?” Alya smirked as she looked up and realized the source of the voice.

“Of course,” she purred to Adrien. “I couldn’t come between two lovebirds.” 

Alya turned back to Marinette and waved a scolding finger at her. “Don’t think that just because I’m not interrogating you now means I won’t later,” she said. She narrowed her eyes at her friend. “You have a lot of explaining to do,  _ mademoiselle. _ ” She stalked off, sending a wink over her shoulder as she did so. Marinette turned bright red and faced Adrien. He opened his mouth to say something, but he was cut off by a black blur that whizzed out of his shirt pocket.

“BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!” Marinette nearly jumped three feet in the air at the sudden noise. “You two-“ Plagg wheezed out between laughter. “Are so-” He nearly fell over mid-flight as he clutched his tiny belly. “- _ stupid!” _

“ _ Plagg!”  _ a squeaky voice scolded. Tikki phased out of Marinette’s bag and soared up to the other kwami. “Stop it! This is serious!”

“I-I know, sugarcube,” he managed, green eyes still alight with amusement. “But this has got to be the most  _ ridiculous  _ identity reveal I’ve ever seen.” 

“You stinky sock,” she huffed, crossing her tiny flipper-arms. 

“Oh come on now, like you didn’t find that funny  _ at all.” _

“I’m sure she didn’t, Plagg,” Marinette said, poking the cat kwami in the head. 

“Well…” Tikki hesitated. Marinette whipped around to stare at her kwami.

“ _ What? _ ”

“I’m sorry,” Tikki said sheepishly. “You have to admit it was a  _ little  _ funny.” The blonde in front of her chuckled.

“I mean, they’ve got a point,” he said. Marinette groaned. 

“You know what, this doesn’t matter,” Marinette dismissed. She pointed a finger at Adrien. “We need to talk.” Adrien raised his eyebrows and looked like he was going to say something, but was once again cut off, this time by a whirlwind of blonde ponytail and acrylic nails. 

“Adrikins!” Chloe squealed. “There you are! Now that I’ve found you we can go clear up to all those peasants that you would  _ never _ be interested in  _ Dupain-Cheng. _ ” She waved a disinterested hand at Marinette. “Normally I don’t like to interact with… lower life forms, but I can’t let them continue to besmirch your name with  _ ridiculous  _ rumors!” For a moment the two just stared at Chloe with blank expressions.

“I don’t have the energy to deal with this,” Marinette said unblinkingly. Adrien laughed and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. Marinette just glared at the hand as if it had personally offended her. 

“Chloe, I know this is hard for you, but I love Marinette-” Marinette sputtered and jerked her head up to stare at Adrien wide-eyed. “And of course I love you too.” Chloe smirked at the other girl, puffing her chest confidently. “Not in the same way of course,” he hastily added. “You’re my oldest friend, and it would mean a lot to me if you could get along with Marinette, since you both are really important to me.” Chloe bit her lip thoughtfully with an annoyed look on her face. For a moment Marinette thought she was going to blow up, but instead she let out a loud, accepting huff. 

“ _ Fine, _ ” she said begrudgingly. Marinette’s mouth fell open in utter shock. “I suppose if you really love her, I can be a  _ little  _ nicer to Mari-trash.” Adrien gave her a pointed look. She stared back at him unregretfully. “Dupain-Cheng is the best you’re gonna get.” Adrien smiled brightly and pulled her into a tight hug. “All right all right, no need to suffocate me Mr. Sunshine.” As he released her, she turned a glare to Marinette. “You better take care of him.” Marinette flashed Chloe a hesitant smile and was about to respond when Adrien spoke.

“Actually, Chloe,” he said. “Marinette doesn’t feel the same way about me.” Chloe stared at the other blond.

And stared.

And stared. 

Her eyes darted briefly to Marinette, and back at Adrien. Then, much to Adrien’s surprise, she burst into a fit of laughter that could have matched Plagg’s. 

“Oh Adrikins, you’re precious,” she chuckled. “Good luck with him, Dupain-Cheng.” With that she turned on her heel and marched off haughtily. Adrien blinked.

“What was that about?” he asked. Marinette’s face darkened.

“Right, like I said, we need to talk,” she said. 

“Ok, what-”

“There you are, dude!” Nino jogged over and threw an arm around Adrien’s shoulder. “Everyone’s looking for you two.” He grinned at Marinette, giving her a suggestive wink. 

“Actually, we were kinda hoping we could-” Marinette started.

“Oh, you found them!” Alix exclaimed. “Come on, we only have 20 more minutes of lunch.” Adrien and Marinette shared a look.  _ Later,  _ she thought, and Adrien seemed to get the idea.

Marinette, Adrien, Nino, and Alix made their way to their normal spot at a table off to the side, where most of their classmates were waiting expectedly for them. Kim looked up as they approached. He smirked and opened his mouth to say something, but Marinette shot him a deathly glare and he promptly snapped his mouth closed. 

Marinette sat down by Alya, across from Adrien and Nino. They silently took out their lunches. Several eyes were drawn to Adrien and Marinette as they chewed their respective meals, not looking at one another. Marinette was still trying to gather her thoughts and was honestly a little thankful she didn’t have to talk to Adrien just yet, however annoyed she was that they kept getting interrupted. Adrien briefly darted his eyes up to look at Marinette, but her gaze was stubbornly fixed on her food so he looked back down and did the same. For a long moment, no one spoke. 

“I gotta know, what were in those texts?” Kim asked, finally breaking the awkward pause. The ever rambunctious boy had been fidgeting uncomfortably in the silence and lost patience quickly. As if he had crashed through the dam of awkwardness, everyone else began talking at once.

“Do you really-”

“So how is he in-”

“I totally won the-”

“I don’t know why I’m sur-”

“PLEASE TELL ME YOU DIDN’T-”

“Dudes, why didn’t you tell-”

“Are you going to eat that sandwich?” All heads turned to Nathaniel with baffled expressions on their faces. He blushed and hit behind his hair. “I’m hungry,” he mumbled. Marinette smiled kindly and handed him a sandwich. (She always carried two in case someone forgot their lunch. Baker’s instinct.) Nathaniel brightened as he unwrapped it. “So, who wins?” he asked through a mouthful of pb&j. 

“I’m glad you asked!” Alya said, pulling out a sheet of paper. “Kim loses… every single one.” Kim groaned loudly. “Fork it up Kim.” Alya held out a hand. 

“How?” Kim asked. “We don’t even know all the details.” 

“Kim, all your dates are at least 3 years in the future and you said the person who would make the first move was their children,” Alya deadpanned. Still grumbling, Kim slapped a handful of euros into the blogger’s hand. “Alright, as for the details,” Alya turned to Marinette and Adrien, the former looking ticked and the latter confused.

“Who made the first move, and when?” Alya asked.

“What are they doing?” Adrien whispered.

“They made bets on us getting together,” Marinette growled. Adrien looked at her in surprise. He turned to Nino, who gave a confirming nod. Adrien thought on this for a moment like the confused little ball of sunshine he was before something seemed to come over him and he smirked at Marinette.

“So, what you’re saying is… everyone thinks we belong together,” he said cheekily and leaned towards her. “ _ My lady,”  _ he finished in a low tone so only Marinette could hear. 

The Marinette part of her wanted to squeal, grab his face, and kiss him. The Ladybug part wanted to murder him for enjoying this horrible, embarrassing, possibly dangerous situation. Finding a common denominator to start with, she shrieked and dove at him. Alya gasped loudly at Marinette’s furious face and grabbed her before she could reach the blond.

“This is all your fault!” She exclaimed, letting out all she had been hoping to hold back until the two got an actual moment alone. There was so much she wanted-  _ needed _ to say to him, but instead she found herself waving her arms wildly, attempting to grab the poor blond. Adrien looked genuinely frightened for a brief moment before relaxing and smiling at the girl’s familiar anger. He’d seen that same fiery temper and justice driven rage painted across a polka-dot masked face on more than one occasion. It was enough to make him question how he had never seen the similarities before. 

Unfortunately, Adrien’s ease fueled the Ladybug part of Marinette. “You better wipe that grin off your stupidly handsome face, Agreste!” 

She silently cursed her Marinette side.

“Handsome?” Adrien questioned. His grin grew even as he blushed despite himself. Marinette turned bright pink.

“Th-that’s besides the point!” She squeaked. 

Emboldened by her stammering, Adrien went on. “No, I want to know  _ exactly  _ how handsome you think my f-” 

“I’m not-”

“Come on now bugaboo,” he said with a roguish grin. Marinette’s eyes flashed dangerously.

“You know that phrase ‘there’s a hundred ways to skin a cat?’” She asked all too sweetly. Adrien eyed her warily.

“Yea-?”

“I know all of them,” she hissed. An ‘ooooooooh’ echoed from the table, reminding the two that they still had an audience. 

“As adorable your little bantering is,” Alya said, smiling at Marinette and nudging her suggestively with her elbow. “I’d really like to settle these bets. So, first move?” Alya took a bored sip of her water as if she already knew what they were going to say. 

“I did, the day of Glaciator,” he said, smiling a little at the memory. Alya did a spit take, spewing water all over Nino. 

“Ah! Babe you-”

Alix jumped up triumphantly. “HA! I knew that cinnamon roll couldn’t be this oblivious! I win!” 

“You guys have been dating that long!?” Alya shot a withering glare at Marinette. “ _ And you didn’t tell me!?” _

“No,” Marinette said simply, not even bothering to look ashamed as she just stuck to the truth. “I rejected him.” 

“WHAT!?” Alya exclaimed. “Why would you do that!?” Adrien’s smile faded. He sheepishly pushed his salad around with his fork.

“She’s in l-”

“I was scared,” Marinette answered honestly. Adrien jerked his head up and his eyebrows furrowed curiously. Marinette looked him in the eyes. It didn’t seem like they’d be left alone to talk until they gave an explanation to their friends.  _ At least I can use this opportunity,  _ she thought. “In that moment, I didn’t want anything to change between us. I didn’t want to ruin everything we’d built.”  _ Our partnership,  _ she said internally, hoping he understood. “And Ch- Adrien’s always meant so much to me.”  _ Everything to me. _ “We’re such good friends.”  _ Best friends.  _ “Honestly I couldn’t figure out what I was feeling, much less understand it.”  _ I care about you, I always have.  _ “So… I just freaked out. I told myself there were reasons, good reasons, like circumstances-”  _ Secret identities.  _ “-people in the way-”  _ Hawkmoth.  _ “-and the future to think of.”  _ Chat Blanc.  _ “I was so stupid.”  _ I thought I loved someone else.  _ “And I was so wrong.”  _ I love you.  _

Adrien’s mouth parted in shock, eyes filling with hope. For a moment they just stared at each other, searching each other’s faces for something _.  _ Neither was sure what exactly. Beside Alya a sudden wail filled the courtyard. 

“That’s so  _ romantic, _ ” Rose squealed, her blue eyes wide and watery. Marinette blinked as she snapped out of her trance. She turned and smiled at Rose.

“Not really,” Marinette said sullenly. “Even after I realized my mistake, it wasn’t all happily ever after. I had convinced myself that Adrien was in love with Kagami, his fencing partner, and that they’d be much better together than me and him.” At that point the whole class, including Adrien, was at the edge of their seats, curious for the rest of the story.

“Then what!?” Kim asked impatiently. 

“When did you finally get together!?” Alix asked. 

“Yeah, how did you confess your feelings?” Alya asked. 

“TELL US WOMAN!” Alix shouted as she slammed her hand on the table. There was silence for a moment as they all stared at her in surprise. Alya turned and gave the pink-haired girl a flabbergasted look. “Sorry, I’m getting really into this,” she said sheepishly. She paused, as if remembering something amusing. “You should see me when I watch mystery movies.” Nathaniel shivered, seeming to have conjured his own memory of Alix that wasn’t quite as funny.

Marinette just grinned, well aware of Alix’s penchant for dramatics (in other people’s lives only of course.) “It was actually today,” she said. A gasp rang through the table. Marinette met Adrien’s curious gaze. “I told him I love him,” she said with a small smile. Adrien brightened so much he could have melted the glaciers with just his smile. “And he asked me out,” she continued meaningfully. Adrien chuckled, nodding along nonetheless. “And we’re going out this Friday,” she said. “At 7.” She paused for a moment. “He’s picking me up.” Adrien cocked his head and raised his eyebrows at her specificity, but she just smiled back at him.

“So sweet,” Rose sighed as she leaned against one hand lazily. 

“So, wait,” Alix said, raising her eyebrows. “You went straight from planning your first date… to sexting in class?” Marinette froze.

_ Oh right. _

_ That.  _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok that’s where I’m leaving this for now. There’s potential for more obviously, but I’m keeping this marked as complete because this is still the tentative end. 
> 
> Happy New Year everyone!

**Author's Note:**

> At the time I wrote this I was binging Parks and Rec so there *may* be a reference in here.
> 
> Also I did write most of this a while ago so I honestly don’t know what I was thinking.


End file.
